Trail Review: Mount Lukens from Deukmejian Wilderness Park
Parking: Free parking in the lots at Deukmejian Wilderness Park.
Distance: About 11 miles out & back
This hike is a long one but it's worth the time and effort for the rewarding view at the end.
The trail starts at the Deukmejian Wilderness Park in Crescenta Highlands. On the weekend, it seems to be a popular place to go so finding parking was a little tricky. Even the overflow parking lot was just about full, so it may help it get there early if you are worried about finding parking. The trail starts at the north end of the road into the park, where there is a gate blocking cars from going up the path:
You'll be following the Dunsmore Canyon Trail to the east for a few tenths of a mile until the Les Mesnager trail veers off to the left. This first little area in the wilderness park has a lot of little winding paths. Some of them do also connect to the Mount Lukens trail so just be sure to check a map if you want to try a different way. But the way we went was Dunsmore Canyon Trail to Les Mesnager Trail.
There are some helpful signs in this first section so be on the look out of you need help figuring out which way to go:
After making your way up and around a ridge, you'll descend down into a canyon and there will probably be some small water crossings if there's been enough rain or runoff recently. They were pretty shallow and easy to cross by hopping along some rocks.
After the crossings, the path will start going back up and bring you back out of the canyon. Once out in the open air, you'll start a series of switchbacks that will have you zigzagging as you work your way up the Mount Lukens.
The rest of the way to Mount Lukens is fairly straightforward. There are one or two forks in the path on the way up but if you just stick to the righthand trail, you'll be fine. The path stays pretty narrow the whole time and there were mountain bikes on this trail so keep an eye out as they do come down the mountain kind of fast.
The incline of the trail stays pretty consistent the whole time, so even though it's never super steep, it does wear on you. But since the view on the way up in pretty nice, there were also plenty of places to rest and enjoy the landscape if needed.
By the way, don't get discouraged by any signs that may say this:
As we got close to the peak, we actually ended up seeing the remnants of some snowfall. It was only small bits on the edge of the trail in parts that didn't get much sun, but I'm guessing that in the winter, this hike can get a good amount of snow, so depending on what time of year you do this hike, you may need some winter gear.
The temperature also seemed to drop quite a bit by the time we reached the top and it could get windy at times so layers are helpful.
As you approach the peak, the first indicator that you've made it are a bunch of transmission towers and some buildings that you definitely can't go into:
But if you walk to the other side of all of that stuff, you'll have an amazing view the spans from the national forest to the north all the way to L.A. to the south:
There were a couple of groups of people at the top of Mount Lukens when we arrived, but the peak is really wide and there was plenty of room to spread out and not have to be near anyone else.
Mount Lukens was named after Theodore Lukens, a supervisor for the Angeles National Forest and a mayor of Pasadena in the late 1800s. The peak sits at 5,095 feet above sea level and is the highest peak within the city of Los Angeles.
When you are done enjoying the view and getting some well-earned rest, you can just head back down the same way you came.
Bottom Line: A long hike that will tire you out but has amazing views of Los Angeles, the Valley, and the Angeles National Forest.
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